PCC helping children in need

Wednesday

Dec 19, 2012 at 11:29 AMDec 19, 2012 at 11:41 AM

Employees at the Pontiac Correctional Center have teamed up with the Salvation Army to collect toys for children in need. Warden Randy Pfister said that the staff takes this time of year seriously by taking time to buy Christmas gifts for needy youngsters. He said that the Angel Tree program has been active at PCC since at least 1989, possibly even before that. Mary Eggleston, correctional officer and volunteer coordinator for the Angel Tree program, explained how the program works. “The tree goes up the week of Thanksgiving,” she said. “An employee and his granddaughter made 100 angels this year. The Salvation Army gave us the names and ages of those 100 children, which are written on the angels, and employees come by and pick up an angel, sometimes more than one, and buys a present for that child.” She said some employees go above and beyond, as seen around the tree. There were multiple bicycles and large presents, all wrapped. Each gift had the angel from the tree taped to it. “The employees have always given quite a bit,” said Pfister. “There’s never a leftover angel.” Since 1989, the economy has fluctuated quite a bit, but the employees at PCC haven’t let it reflect what kind of presents that could be found underneath the tree. “Pontiac Correctional Center employees in general are very generous and they like to reach out to the community any way they can,” Eggleston said. This is Eggleston’s second year volunteering for the coordinator position, which is something she said she finds rewarding. “I enjoy seeing the generosity in the employees at the facility,” she said. Pfister agreed with that sentiment, adding, “I feel honored to be here and I say it to the employees every day. The employees make PCC what it is and this is one way of showing that to the community.” The gifts were collected for children ranging in ages from newborn to 17. They were taken to the Salvation Army Tuesday for distribution in time for Christmas.